Language

One question that's really been at the forefront of my mind lately is "How does this all tie back into Education?"I received comments back on my AERA conference proposal and all were fairly positive, but all kept saying "We would like to see more clear ties to Education."

The connect--or at least one--came to me this morning as I was thinking about how all of my participants tie together.  3 of the 4 are second generation, and yet all three speak the language of land where their parents immigrated from.  In the twentieth century, this was practically unheard of.  America, the great "melting pot" was the place where you came, shed your former identity, and took on a new American identity and system of values.  It's really only been within the last 20 years or so that "pluribus" as Lessow-Hurley (2009) frames it has been accepted and encouraged.  This is what I noticed especially in Rose's narrative--talk about nurturing both an "American" and "Syrian" identity; an "American" and "Muslim" identity.  As Sapir-Whorf (1956?) theorized, language and culture are integrally linked, and all three second generation participants talked about the importance of learning the language in order to better understand the culture.

In the wake of World War I and II, schools lessened opportunities for foreign language learning as it was perceived as more of a threat than a boon.  Most foreign language programs and dual language programs were eliminated during this time as a result of growing isolationism and nationalism (Lessow-Hurley, 2009). Maintaining a home language was enough to make individuals seen as national threats. While English-Only movements still exist and receive some legislation, we have seen some attitudes again shift towards favoring multilingualism in the US. In an effort to strengthen national security, President George Bush launched the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI)  in 2006 to push for more foreign language study.  The initiative designated funding to support language instruction at every level of education, but it was never funded in the long run (Zehr, 2007).  As the department of Education in the state of Missouri recently stated (DESE, 2011), more students are now taking foreign language to help prepare them for a future in a more global society.

The success of the participants in my study and their comfort with multiple cultural identities should further encourage language studies.  Growing up in the 1980s when little foreign language support was available in schools, they learned through trips to their native countries (at least as often as every three years) and through six months to two year stints living in the country at some point during their young adult lives.  In each case, these times of living abroad were mentioned as transformative and valuable experiences, often leading to job opportunities in the US related to their foreign language abilities.

While I know that there is other information related to Education to be drawn out (including Rose's focus on storytellers as important educators in her life!) language and cultural knowledge gained through language learning seems a critical point in my mind.  If we want our children to learn and grow confident in who they are and how they understand the world, we must provide more opportunity and encouragement for language learning in our schools.

References:
DESE. (2011, Nov. 14).  Foreign language, world history classes are on the rise. 45 (103). Retrieved on November 29, 2011, from http://dese.mo.gov/news/2011/int-ed-week.htm

Lessow-Hurley, J. (2009).  The Foundations of Dual Language Instruction, 5th ed. New York: Pearson.

Zehr, M. S. (2007, August 1).  "Students get taste of 'national security languages.'" Education Week, p. 5, 12.